The 22-year-old Kai Cenat is currently holding a month-long marathon stream on Twitch. In the first 250 hours, he has already set a record and earned about 1 million US dollars.
What kind of streamer is he? Kai Cenat is an American streamer who has only been active on Twitch since February 2021. However, in a very short time, he became one of the biggest streamers on the platform: Just a year and a half later, he knocked the former Overwatch pro xQc off the sub throne.
In 2023, Kai Cenat broke two records on Twitch with his “Mafiathon,” a month-long streaming marathon: He became the streamer with the most active subs of all time and was the first to break the mark of 300,000 simultaneously active subscriptions. Even the rapper Drake congratulated the streamer.
Currently, Kai Cenat is hosting the “Mafiathon II” and is reclaiming the record that a pink-haired anime girl had taken from him in the meantime. For that, the streamer has been continuously streaming for over 250 hours – aside from a short interruption when Kai Cenat was banned from Twitch for a few minutes.
So it is a single – albeit very long – stream
Before he sold himself to Kick for a lot of money, xQc was number 1 on Twitch:
Kai Cenat is the new old Twitch world champion
This is how it is going for Kai Cenat right now: The streamer is still in the midst of his subathon, but already the marathon stream is a complete success. In the early morning hours of November 12th in our time, Kai Cenat surpassed 326,252 simultaneous subs and reclaimed his record after just about a month and a half.
The 22-year-old is now again the streamer with the most simultaneously active paid subscriptions ever – and the subathon is far from over. So it is quite possible that the record streamer will also surpass 400,000.
You can see the big moment here (Warning, loud!):
How much money is that? Currently, Kai Cenat has over 333,000 subs, mostly worth $4.99 – the more expensive Tier 2 and Tier 3 subs are negligible. However, Twitch keeps a share of the subs, and for a streamer of Kai Cenat’s size, you can expect around 30% if he hasn’t made another deal.
Then about 1.1 million dollars should still end up in the streamer’s account, so roughly one million euros. 20% of the revenue, however, is not supposed to go to Kai Cenat, but to a project with which the streamer wants to build a school in Nigeria.
Fans cheer for streamer, others are critical
How is this being discussed? Kai Cenat is being widely celebrated by his fans for his success. Even the Vtuber ironmouse, who temporarily held the record, expresses her admiration: She even believes that the streamer could break 1 million subs (via X).
But not everyone is so enthusiastic. One user on X asks: “Why donate to the rich?” This is a question that almost always arises when larger streamers are generously gifted subs by their community.
After all, these content creators likely have more money than most fans who are subscribing – wouldn’t the sub be better off with a smaller streamer?
In the case of Kai Cenat, several factors likely come together. Some fans respond to the user: They support a good cause, and it is also cool to be part of such a record.
The 22-year-old also occupies a special role on Twitch, as the top streamers are still predominantly white. As a black American who hails from difficult circumstances and has fought his way to the top of the streaming platform, Kai Cenat serves as a role model, especially for younger African American viewers who are seldom represented.
Additionally, Kai Cenat has a good connection with celebrities: He has already had stars like actor Kevin Hart, rappers Nicki Minaj and Snoop Dogg, and wrestler John Cena as guests on his stream.
The 22-year-old turns his streams into spectacular events with star guests and a lot of entertainment programming – and that pays off.
Kai Cenat is not the only streamer currently raking in paid subs with a streaming marathon. It is often observed that during such a subathon, it matters less how many viewers there are and more how to activate one’s community: Number 196 on Twitch accidentally shows his earnings – Earns 3 years’ salary in one month